Italy November 28 Strike To Hit Flights And Trains

Published on Nov 24, 2025, 10:48 am CST

9 min read

Key points

Italy general strike flights November 28 will disrupt trains, flights, metros, and buses across major cities for 24 hours
Rail operator Gruppo FS warns that Trenitalia, Trenitalia Tper, and Trenord services may be canceled from 9:00 p.m. November 27 to 9:00 p.m. November 28 with only essential commuter trains in peak windows
Italian regulator ENAC confirms that November 28 air transport strike flights are protected between 7:00 and 10:00 a.m. and between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. local time
Local transport authorities in Rome, Milan, Turin, and other cities expect reduced service outside their own guarantee bands, putting airport, port, and commuter links at risk
Travelers with tight same day connections or late evening departures around November 28 should shift to protected windows, add long buffers, or move trips to different days
The November 28 strike adds to a wider calendar of November and December protests, so Italy bound travelers should monitor for further sector specific walkouts

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the most severe disruption on long distance and regional rail corridors through Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, and Naples and on local buses and metros feeding their stations
Best Times To Travel: Aim for trains during the 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. commuter protection bands and flights during the 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. ENAC protected windows
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Avoid self made connections under three hours on November 28, especially when changing between train and plane, and move critical links to earlier or later days where possible
Onward Travel And Changes: Plan for limited taxis and slower airport buses, prebook flexible tickets, and map walking routes in city centers in case last mile transit is reduced
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check operator strike notices, move nonessential trips away from November 28, rebook tight rail and air connections into protected windows, and save offline copies of tickets and route maps

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Italy general strike flights November 28 will cut rail and air options through Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, and Naples, because base unions have called a 24 hour national walkout that reaches trains, airports, local buses, and metros. Travelers with tight same day connections on November 28, 2025, or overnight journeys that start late on November 27 face the highest risk of cancellations and missed links as operators scale back timetables. Most visitors should expect reduced frequencies, long lines, and the need to shift journeys to protected time bands or different days wherever possible.

In plain terms, the Italy November 28 transport strike will reduce flights, trains, and local transport across the country for a full 24 hours, so travelers must plan around guaranteed service windows and assume that many other departures will be canceled or heavily delayed.

Who Is Striking And Why It Matters For Travel

Italy's transport calendar shows a 24 hour general strike on Friday, November 28, called by hardline unions such as the Unione Sindacale di Base, USB, and allied base confederations, in protest against the 2026 budget, wage and pension policies, and foreign policy positions of the Meloni government. The call covers broad swaths of the public and private sectors, but for travelers the key issue is that staff at Gruppo FS rail companies, local transport agencies, airport ground handlers, and some air traffic control units are all participating to varying degrees.

Because this is a general strike rather than a narrow company walkout, there is no single safe corridor. Instead, Italy's minimum service laws require only certain "essential" trains and flights to operate during defined bands, while operators are free to cancel or retime many others as they manage staffing gaps.

How The Rail Strike Window Works

Gruppo FS, which includes Trenitalia, Trenitalia Tper, and Trenord, warns that long distance, high speed, and regional trains may be canceled or changed from 900 p.m. on Thursday, November 27, to 900 p.m. on Friday, November 28, 2025. Trains scheduled to depart before 900 p.m. on November 27 and arrive by 1000 p.m. should generally run as planned, which is important for travelers trying to move long journeys fully outside the strike window.

During the strike, Italian law requires a limited set of guaranteed services. Trenitalia and Trenord underline that essential commuter trains will run only in the weekday rush bands, broadly between 600 and 900 a.m. and between 600 and 900 p.m., on key routes into and out of major cities. Outside those windows, even some important intercity and airport link trains can disappear from the timetable, or run with heavy delays.

For a traveler, that means Friday morning and early evening are the best hours to attempt necessary trips on routes such as Rome to Florence, Milan to Venice, or airport services into Milan and Rome, while midday and late night departures are most at risk. Anyone with a same day rail connection to a cruise port, ski area, or regional airport should strongly consider moving at least one leg to Thursday morning or Saturday once schedules are clearer.

Impact On Flights And Major Airports

In aviation, Italy's regulator ENAC confirms a 24 hour national strike in the air transport sector on November 28, with a legally protected band from 700 to 1000 a.m. and another from 600 to 900 p.m. local time when flights must operate, along with a published list of guaranteed services. The strike is expected to affect baggage handlers, security staff, and some air traffic control, which increases the risk of ground delays and slower turnarounds even for protected flights.

Airports such as Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (FCO) in Rome and Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) are likely to see a mixture of cancellations and retimings outside the protected windows, especially on domestic and short haul European routes where airlines can consolidate passengers more easily. Long haul flights are more likely to operate, but may be shifted into the protected bands or see schedule adjustments to ensure crews remain within legal duty times.

Travelers booked on flights outside the 700 to 1000 a.m. and 600 to 900 p.m. windows should watch airline apps closely and be ready for proactive cancellations or offers to rebook, often at no extra cost. For those still shopping for tickets, it makes sense to choose departures clearly inside the protected periods, or to route via nearby hubs such as Geneva, Zurich, Vienna, or Barcelona instead of relying on Italy for a critical same day connection.

Local Transport In Major Cities

City transport agencies are publishing their own patterns for November 28, and these matter for airport transfers and hotel moves. In Rome, municipality and ATAC notices say that the metro, buses, and trams are at risk for the full 24 hour period, but service is guaranteed from the start of service until about 830 a.m., then again from 500 to 8:00 p.m., with reduced or no service outside these windows. Similar 24 hour participation by USB and CUB has been announced in Turin, where guarantee bands also fall around the morning and evening peaks.

In Milan, local buses and metro lines are also expected to be cut back, which will affect access to Milano Centrale, suburban stations, and the shuttle buses used for Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate airport transfers. Venice, Naples, Bologna, and Florence are reporting comparable patterns, often with early and late services guaranteed but large gaps in the middle of the day. The net result is that airport buses, port shuttles, and last mile links between stations and historic centers may be slow, crowded, or absent, especially in the middle of the day and late at night.

Travelers arriving in Italy on November 28 should plan for backup options, such as prebooked taxis, shared shuttles, or the willingness to walk moderate distances with luggage if a local tram or bus does not show. Those connecting between rail and air in the same city should add at least an extra hour on top of their usual allowance to cover slow moving or reduced local transport.

Highways, Ferries, And Wider Impacts

The strike call extends beyond rail and city transit into parts of the highway and logistics network, which means that some toll booths, rest areas, and logistics corridors may operate with reduced staffing. While most long distance coaches should still run, they can encounter backups at choke points around major cities if union members slow or block traffic as part of protest actions.

Some regional ferry and port services may also be affected, although the impact is expected to be more uneven than on rail. Travelers bound for islands or coastal towns should check both their ferry operator and local port authority notices two or three days before departure, and avoid itineraries that require a tight same day ferry and train combination on November 28.

Background: How Italian Minimum Service Rules Work

Italian strike law tries to balance the right to strike with a guarantee of essential mobility. For national rail and city transport strikes, this usually means that a reduced timetable must be offered during weekday commuter peaks, often 600 to 900 a.m. and 600 to 900 p.m., with a published list of "servizi minimi garantiti," or guaranteed services. For air transport, ENAC maintains a list of guaranteed flights and sets time bands such as 700 to 1000 a.m. and 600 to 900 p.m. in which flights must operate, even on strike days.

In practice, operators often cancel a large share of services outside those windows to concentrate staff, and may also trim schedules in the protected bands when allowed. This is why travelers cannot assume that "some trains are running" means their specific train will run, even in peak periods, and why it is critical to check strike day timetables route by route.

How To Adjust November 28 Itineraries

The most conservative strategy is simply to avoid long intra Italy journeys on November 28. If you can shift a city to city transfer or a key airport departure to November 27 morning or November 29, you remove the biggest strike risk. If travel that day is unavoidable, aim for departure times deep inside the legal protection bands, not right at the edges.

For rail, try to book morning or early evening services on mainlines such as Rome to Milan, Milan to Venice, or Florence to Naples, and build in a backup plan in case your specific train is canceled, for example an alternative departure later in the same band. Download tickets and offline maps in advance, because station help desks may be overwhelmed. For flights, move departures into the 700 to 1000 a.m. or 600 to 900 p.m. windows wherever possible, and choose itineraries with longer connections at non Italian hubs if you are crossing continents.

Travelers who must connect between train and plane on November 28 should treat the combination as a single critical path and schedule at least three hours between scheduled arrivals and departures, more if crossing a large city between stations and airports. If you have separate tickets, such as a low cost flight plus an independent rail ticket, consider moving at least one leg off the strike day or protecting yourself with flexible fares.

Looking beyond November 28, Italian media and travel advisories point to additional sector specific actions in early and mid December, including separate strike calls by other confederations, which means that Italy bound travelers over the coming weeks should keep checking calendars and not assume this is a one off event. Internal coverage such as Adept Traveler's earlier alerts on European and Italian strike waves and evergreen explainers on how Italian strikes work can help with broader pattern recognition and long term planning. See, for example, Belgium Strikes November 24 To 26 Waivers And Eurostar and a structural guide such as How Italian Transport Strikes Work.